tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32148706082746091092017-06-09T03:20:39.344-07:00Parkside for dummiesin in the PressZengernoreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-1353010467512744582009-06-04T14:16:00.000-07:002009-07-05T14:17:45.172-07:00Pol sees no conflicts having son as lobbyist for State Senator<a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2009/06/04/2009-06-04_pol_sees_no_conflicts_having_son_as_lobbyist.html">Pol sees no conflicts having son as lobbyist for State Senator </a><br />BY Kenneth Lovett DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHEIF <br /><br />Thursday, June 4th 2009, 4:00 AM <br /><br /> Goldfield for News/Goldfield, Ken, Freelance, NYDN <br />Toby Ann Stavisky's son, Evan, is a lobbyist for a firm that goes before his mother - and also lists her as a client, the Daily News has learned<br /><br />ALBANY - Senate education bigwig Toby Ann Stavisky's son is a lobbyist for a firm that goes before his mother - and also lists her as a client, the Daily News has learned.<br /><br />Evan Stavisky is a partner with The Parkside Group, which has a client list that includes SUNY-Buffalo and several CUNY entities, including Queens College. <br /><br />Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Queens) became head of the Higher Education Committee in January, when Democrats took control of the state Senate. <br /><br />Parkside, which also does political consulting for a host of elected officials, lists the senator as a client, and records show she paid the firm more than $200,000 last year. <br /><br />Toby Ann Stavisky and Parkside deny there is any undue influence. <br /><br />"My son does not lobby me or even discuss his clients with me," she said. Other members of the firm lobby the senator, insiders said. <br /><br />Parkside President Harry Giannoulis insisted his firm adheres to "the highest ethical standards." <br /><br />"Although the law contains no prohibition, Evan Stavisky does not lobby his mother on higher education, or any other issues, period," Giannoulis said. <br /><br />Yet government watchdog groups say there is an appearance of impropriety. <br /><br />"The public perception is there is definitely an inside track - it's mother and son," said Barbara Bartoletti of the state League of Women Voters. <br /><br />Susan Lerner, of Common Cause-New York, said the senator should recuse herself from all issues involving clients of her son's firm. <br /><br />"Whether the child, the lobbyist, is hired because they are going to talk directly to his parent or not is irrelevant," Lerner said. "We know why they are being hired. It's influence." <br /><br />Toby Ann Stavisky said she has no plans to recuse herself. <br /><br />"There's no need," she said. "There are times when I oppose some of their client's positions. I deal with each issue on the merits." <br /><br />Former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno took heat when his son, a former district attorney, quit his job to become a lobbyist. The younger Bruno lobbied the Senate, but his father insisted the two did not talk business. <br /><br />Besides SUNY-Buffalo and Queens College, other higher education clients listed on Parkside's Web site are Plaza College, CUNY Creative Arts Team, CUNY Graduate Center Foundation and Queensborough Community College. <br /><br />The influential firm also does political consulting for Evan Stavisky's brother-in-law Ken Zebrowski (D-Rockland). <br /><br />Toby Ann Stavisky in 1999 was the first woman from Queens elected to the state Senate, filling the seat of her late husband, Leonard Stavisky. <br /><br /><br />Read more: "Pol sees no conflicts having son as lobbyist for State Senator" - http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2009/06/04/2009-06-04_pol_sees_no_conflicts_having_son_as_lobbyist.html#ixzz0HSNOCDEj&AZengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-57215037862945593782009-02-08T07:21:00.000-08:002009-02-08T07:24:31.676-08:00Parkside Candidates Connors, Crowley and Gennaro spend almost $1 Million and All LosePadavan victory statement slams Parkside<br /> <br />"First and foremost, I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to the thousands who supported my re-election and to the countless residents in our community who expressed their unwavering support throughout the recount process. I look forward to returning to Albany and bringing some much needed energy and common sense to the deliberations and debates in the state Senate. <br /><br />From Election Night and at every step of the recount, I remained in the lead. However, despite this crystal clear fact, Councilman James Gennaro and his political cohorts at the Parkside Group engaged in a shameful smear campaign intended to mislead residents of the 11th Senate District. Today, their constant claims and negative attacks have once again been proven erroneous and utterly baseless. In fact, ballots that were deemed invalided based on Election Law by the both the Queens Board of Elections and the New York City Board of Elections were examined twice providing an unprecedented level of scrutiny and due diligence for any recount in our state. <br /><br />Councilman Gennaro, party bosses and the political operatives at the Parkside Group prolonged this process with endless delays and senseless legal wrangling in order to advance their own political agenda. Had it not been for the unmitigated greed and self-serving motives of Councilman Gennaro and the Parkside Group this election would have been resolved back in November and the residents of the 11th Senate District would not have been denied a voice in the State Senate at a critical time for our community and state. <br /><br />The antics of Councilman Gennaro and his Parkside Group friends are a complete disservice to the community and lead to the disenfranchisement of the tens of thousands of Northeast Queens residents. As a result of their outrageous tactics, Gennaro and the Parkside Group are responsible for wasting thousands of taxpayers’ dollars. <br /><br />We are facing a myriad of grave economic challenges at every level of government. Moving forward, I pledge to continue to fight on behalf of the all residents of Northeast Queens each and every day and help put our economy on the right path to recovery." - Frank Padavan<br /><br />Then he told the NY Observer: "He spent over twice as much money as I spent, the registration is three to one in his favor, and president Obama received 70 percent of the vote in this Senate district. So despite all of those advantages, he lost," Padavan said. "That shows, I think, a very strong position in terms of our work for the last 36 years."Zengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-21830303933057367942009-02-06T07:02:00.000-08:002009-02-08T07:03:47.042-08:00Padavan Attacks Parkside's TacticsPadavan Fires Back<br />February 6, 2009<br />Even though the recount in the 11th SD is over and Republican Frank Padavan will be returning to his Senate seat in Albany, the war of words between the GOP and the Democrats wages on. <br /><br />In response to Democratic Councilman Jim Gennaro's non-concession concession statement last night in which he blamed Padavan and his fellow Republicans for dragging out the race and demanded an apology on behalf of the districts residents, the returning senator fired back with some finger-pointing of his own. <br /><br />After thanking the "thousands" who supported his re-election by 578 votes and expressing his eagerness to return to Albany next week (at which time he will resume being paid for showing up to work), Padavan took aim at the Gennaro, his supporters and his consulting firm, the Parkside Group. <br /><br />"From Election Night and at every step of the recount, I remained in the lead," Padavan said. "However, despite this crystal clear fact, Councilman James Gennaro and his political cohorts at the Parkside Group engaged in a shameful smear campaign intended to mislead residents of the 11th Senate District." <br /><br />"Today, their constant claims and negative attacks have once again been proven erroneous and utterly baseless. In fact, ballots that were deemed invalided based on Election Law by the both the Queens Board of Elections and the New York City Board of Elections were examined twice providing an unprecedented level of scrutiny and due diligence for any recount in our state."<br /><br />"Councilman Gennaro, party bosses and the political operatives at the Parkside Group prolonged this process with endless delays and senseless legal wrangling in order to advance their own political agenda."<br /><br />"Had it not been for the unmitigated greed and self-serving motives of Councilman Gennaro and the Parkside Group this election would have been resolved back in November and the residents of the 11th Senate District would not have been denied a voice in the State Senate at a critical time for our community and state."<br /><br />"The antics of Councilman Gennaro and his Parkside Group friends are a complete disservice to the community and lead to the disenfranchisement of the tens of thousands of Northeast Queens residents. As a result of their outrageous tactics, Gennaro and the Parkside Group are responsible for wasting thousands of taxpayers' dollars."<br /><br /><br />For the record, Gennaro has paid Parkside more than $476,500 since last July for consulting, TV ads, signs, literature and other campaign-related exenses, according to his financial reports online at the state Board of Elections Web site. <br /><br /><br />Tags:<br />2010 , Consultants , Democrats , Queens , Republicans , Senate <br />By Elizabeth Benjamin on February 6, 2009 10:35 AM | Comments (5) Email Buzz up!<br />5 Comments<br />Cincinnatus<br /><br />February 6, 2009<br />11:03 AM<br />Parkside sure does earn a large fee. <br /><br />At the very least they've guaranteed themselves another $500,000 payday in 2010 for the rematch.<br /><br />Of course if this war of words continues then Parkside could stand to reap in the $ even earlier. <br /><br />johnandcam<br /><br />February 6, 2009<br />11:06 AM<br />I am for voters' rights but if a voter can't even fill a ballot correctly with accurate information then the ballot should be null immediately. Gennaro is a sore loser. I will never forgive Gennaro on how he treated the female lawyer who spoke in behalf of the NYC bar association on their support for the ban on horse drawn carriage. Finally after minutes of battering this attorney, Tony Avella came to her defense and call Gennaro out on his "shameful" behavior. I never though I stand up for a lawyer but I felt so bad for her. She was so professional and Gennaro was so scummy and he embarrassed the city.<br />glendale<br /><br />February 6, 2009<br />12:22 PM<br />Johnandcam is right on about Gennaro being scummy and an embarrassment. He did not show class during the campaign making spurious charges and he did not show class after he clearly lost continuing to make spurious charges and lacked the commn decency to concede an election he lost. Voter's in the 11SD should not soon forget Gennaro's conduct and total disregard for truth, fairplay and the voter's in the district. They also should not forget the boatloads of money he raised from developers and other special interests to sell out the very community he ran promising to protect. Senator Padavan may not be warm and fussy but he is a straight shooter who does the right thing by his community year in year out. <br />VJ Machiavelli<br /><br />February 6, 2009<br />11:10 PM<br />Liz you left out how much his wife received in Consulting fees. like these on Feb 26/08 check #1070 $7,500.00 dollars or on 03/20/08 check # 1074 $800.00 Lets not forget his "LAWYER" "Arnold Kriss on 10/ 02/07 check #1057 $15,047.16, 03/16.07 check # 1031 $25,000.00 Then it seems he love to have "POLITICAL MEETINGS" at Acquista Trattoria on 03/21/07 he had one for $50.65 cents. Yes Liz you should really take a look at how he spent ALL THAT MONEY HE RAISED.<br /><br />Senator Padavan ran a campaign based on his record, he did not bring up why Gennaro spent $40,000.00 on a lawyer or paid his wife as a "Fundraising Consultant" Gennaro & his "BRAIN" Evan Stavisky used every dirty trick in the book. They could not run a campaign based on records they had to ise one based on Lies and fear.<br /><br />Gennaro needs to explain to the voters of the 11 SD and to those he represents in the city council WHY HE HAD TO PAY ARNOLD KRISS $40,000.00 DOLLARS. As for using his wife as a "Fundraising Consultant" THATS WHAT TOM DeLAY DID IN WASHINGTON, boy did the DEMOCRAT'S HOWL<br /><br />VJ Machiavelli<br />http://www.vjmachiavelli.blogspot.com<br />rush fan<br /><br />February 7, 2009<br />7:42 PM<br />Wow, way to lay into them Fran! Parkside is an embarrassment. Working on getting people elected then lobbying these self-same people. Can anyone spell CONFLICT of INTEREST???Zengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-84523797038745269172008-11-08T04:42:00.000-08:002008-11-08T04:44:36.755-08:00"Frank says Parkside is "sleazy""[Photo]Padavan said Gennaro ran a "despicable campaign" and that his consultants were that "sleazy outfit, the Parkside Group" which, according to Padavan, "are famous for that type of campaign."<br /><br />Padavan's said his opponent distorted and misrepresented his voting record. He said he supported increasing access to health care and tougher gun control measures, but that Gennaro's campaign said the complete opposite. <br /><br />Leading in Recount, Padavan Makes His Attacks<br /><br />Padavan said he decided to focus his campaign's message on "our record." He also said in hindsight, he would not have changed his message.<br /><br />"There are lots of things I could have done, but I chose not to," he said. "We ran a very, very clean campaign. Everything we put out was positive."<br /><br />But he told me the attacks they could have made. <br /><br />There was the issue of Gennaro "having been found guilty by the New York City Board of Elections, and he paid a fine,"said Padavan. "There was his involvement in that scandal in the City Council [with] those phony organizations, and the fact that he received the bulk of his funding from developers, which have been the enemies of my constituency and want to change the character of the neighborhood."<br />posted by Queens Crapper at 12:05 AM on Nov 8, 2008 <br /><br /><br /> Anonymous said... <br />looks like Parkside's reputation is changing. They used to be the most hated lobbying firm the the city. Now, looks like they're also the least effective. <br /><br />Remember, folks, you can help stamp out the Parkside Group. Vote against ANY AND ALL CANDIDATES who do business with them. The Liz Crowley story is a great example. Ran with Parkside - lost. Ran without Parkside - won. Congrats, Liz.<br /><br />Saturday, November 08, 2008<br /><br /><br /> Anonymous said... <br />The Parasite Group strikes again!<br /><br />How does it feel, Jim, that they took your money, made you look like an asshole, and just like Liz Crowley in the special election - left you a few votes shy. People know them now, they know their tactics, and they're 'just saying no' to scum like Evan Stavisky. <br />Remember that next time.<br /><br />Saturday, November 08, 2008<br /><br /><br /> Anonymous said... <br />Evan is complete moron, and NO candidate should let him speak to the media on their behalf. His moronic 'dead in the water' comment is proof of that.<br /><br />Saturday, November 08, 2008<br /><br /><br /> Evan Stavisky said... <br />Hi, welcome to White Castle, can I take your order?<br /><br />Saturday, November 08, 2008<br /><br /><br /> The Ghosts of St. Saviours said... <br />Completed Tasks:<br /><br />-Gallagher<br />-Maspeth Development LLC<br />-Maltese<br />-Como<br /><br />To Do:<br /><br />-Parkside Group<br />-Michael Bloomberg<br />-Community Assault Unit<br />-The Queens Ledge<br /><br />Saturday, November 08, 2008<br /><br /><br /> italian girl said... <br />I received tons of flyers from Gennaro - very negative. What a turnoff. I voted democrat all the way down until I got to Padavan - Gennaro.<br /><br />Gennaro = Slimeball<br /><br />Saturday, November 08, 2008<br /><br /><br /> Anonymous said... <br />Our mail boxes were filled with Gennaro propaganda, It angered me that he took credit for all the downsizing that took place in his district,it was the civics andhard working residenst that did the work, He was usually a thorn in our back! Look at the Jamaica debacle. he voted to screw the community.<br /><br />Saturday, November 08, 2008<br /><br /><br /> Anonymous said... <br />Jim Gennaro and the Parkside Group should be ashamed of themselves, aside from their negative campaigning, they opted to completely cover the Jamaica Estates Gatehouse, the World War II Memorial as well as the 179St.subway station walls with Gennaro for senate posters. This is public property! Just because you earmarked funds for the renovation, you don't own it!<br /><br />Saturday, November 08, 2008<br /><br /><br />[Photo]Padavan said Gennaro ran a "despicable campaign" and that his consultants were that "sleazy outfit, the Parkside Group" which, according to Padavan, "are famous for that type of campaign."<br /><br />Padavan's said his opponent distorted and misrepresented his voting record. He said he supported increasing access to health care and tougher gun control measures, but that Gennaro's campaign said the complete opposite. <br /><br />Leading in Recount, Padavan Makes His Attacks<br /><br />Padavan said he decided to focus his campaign's message on "our record." He also said in hindsight, he would not have changed his message.<br /><br />"There are lots of things I could have done, but I chose not to," he said. "We ran a very, very clean campaign. Everything we put out was positive."<br /><br />But he told me the attacks they could have made. <br /><br />There was the issue of Gennaro "having been found guilty by the New York City Board of Elections, and he paid a fine,"said Padavan. "There was his involvement in that scandal in the City Council [with] those phony organizations, and the fact that he received the bulk of his funding from developers, which have been the enemies of my constituency and want to change the character of the neighborhood."<br />posted by Queens Crapper at 12:05 AM on Nov 8, 2008 <br /> <br /> Leave your comment <br /><br /> <br /> Google/Blogger <br /> <br />Username <br /> <br />Password <br /> <br />No Google Account? Sign up here. <br />You can also use your Blogger account. <br /><br />Queens Crap November 8, 2008Zengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-29215243835712274022008-10-08T06:51:00.000-07:002009-02-08T06:57:21.425-08:00After Loss Crowley Parts with Parkside and WinsSame Faces, Different Tactics in Elizabeth Crowley vs. Anthony Como by John Lauinger - NY Daily News - October 8, 2008<br /> <br />Read original...<br /><br /><br />When Democrat Elizabeth Crowley campaigned in the June special election for former City Councilman Dennis Gallagher's seat, she avoided speaking directly to the press.<br /><br />Her message was crafted by the Parkside Group, a high-powered political consulting firm, and its media-savvy consultants did all the talking.<br /><br />But as she gears up for a November rematch with Anthony Como, who won that election, Crowley has been waging a conspicuously homespun and unchaperoned campaign.<br /><br />Crowley told the Queens News she parted ways with the Parkside Group in order to save money and run a "grass-roots" effort.<br /><br />"I lost by 38 votes and I said, 'What can I do differently?'" Crowley said, noting her new approach is to spend her money on "direct voter contact."<br /><br />"It's the way that elections should be won - knocking on doors, meeting voters at train stops, going to community organizations," she said.<br /><br />Crowley said of the Parkside Group: "Their mail and their campaign stuff is a lot more expensive than if I go to the printer myself and have something made."<br /><br />But Como (R-Middle Village) took issue with Crowley's "new" mail. "She's at meetings handing out her old palm cards," he said.<br /><br />The Crowley campaign gave The News a card at a candidates forum last week in Ridgewood. It reads: "Vote Crowley. Special Election. Tuesday, June 3rd."<br /><br />"June 3rd" had been crossed off.<br /><br />The 30th Council District - which includes Middle Village, Glendale and Ridgewood, with parts of Richmond Hill, Woodhaven and Forest Hills - has been in Republican hands since 1991.<br /><br />A Democratic insider said Queens party bosses thought the best chance of claiming the seat was in the nonpartisan special election, in which Como and former GOP Councilman Tom Ognibene split GOP votes.<br /><br />But it didn't happen. Now Queens Democrats - led by Crowley's cousin, Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Queens) - have more important races to consider than Round 2 of Crowley vs. Como, the insider said.<br /><br />But Michael Reich, the executive secretary of the Queens Democratic Party, said Crowley has done well in fund-raising and has not been abandoned.Zengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-40274392778991625972008-10-07T12:07:00.000-07:002008-10-07T12:11:06.645-07:00Something Happening Here?<strong>Dizzy Lizzy dumps Parkside</strong><br /> <br />When Democrat Elizabeth Crowley campaigned in the June special election for former City Councilman Dennis Gallagher's seat, she avoided speaking directly to the press.<br /><br />Her message was crafted by the Parkside Group, a high-powered political consulting firm, and its media-savvy consultants did all the talking.<br /><br />Same faces, different tactics in Elizabeth Crowley vs. Anthony Como<br /><br />But as she gears up for a November rematch with Anthony Como, who won that election, Crowley has been waging a conspicuously homespun and unchaperoned campaign.<br /><br />Crowley told the Queens News she parted ways with the Parkside Group in order to save money and run a "grass-roots" effort.<br /><br />"I lost by 38 votes and I said, 'What can I do differently?'" Crowley said, noting her new approach is to spend her money on "direct voter contact."<br /><br />"It's the way that elections should be won - knocking on doors, meeting voters at train stops, going to community organizations," she said.<br /><br />Crowley said of the Parkside Group: "Their mail and their campaign stuff is a lot more expensive than if I go to the printer myself and have something made."<br /><br />Maybe Parkside was actually working for the other side... <br />Posted by Queens Crapper at 12:20 AM 19 comments Links to this post <em>- from Queens Crap, October 7, 2008</em>Zengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-79759707912965994962008-09-20T17:39:00.000-07:002008-10-07T12:12:47.458-07:00A New "Tin Box"<strong><strong>Parkside Partner Consultant Helps Gifford Miller Become Council Speaker in 2002</strong></strong><br /><br />"Gifford represents a completely new paradigm," said <strong>Harry Gianoulis</strong>, a consultant who helped coordinate Mr. Miller's campaign for Speaker. "It's consistent with the way that all of these new guys think that he took a multi-track approach and tried to talk to everyone, instead of saying 'I've got Queens and the Bronx' and ignoring everything outside that target audience. He started early with his campaigning, and he didn't make enemies. The old model doesn't work anymore, where you sit on your ass and wait for a county leader to pick you." <em>-NY Obsever 2001</em><br /><br /><strong>Good Governement Group the Citizen Union Reports Lobbying Firms were created to do work in Miller Council </strong><br /><br /><strong>More political consultants in New York have taken on the second role of lobbyists over the last five years, prompting good-government advocates to press the city's ethics board to revive attempts to regulate the practice. An analysis by Citizens Union, a nonprofit policy group, shows that half of the top 10 consultant-lobbyists last year earned no money from lobbying in 2001,</strong> but gradually adopted the practice, sometimes lobbying the same public officials they helped elect. Altogether, those 10 firms earned $32 million from lobbying and consulting from 2002 to 2005, according to the analysis, which the group intends to present today to the Conflicts of Interest Board. <em>- New York Times, Febuary 3, 2006</em><br /><br /><strong>Parkside Group Is Formed</strong><br /><br />In Queens, the Parkside Group leads the newcomers in attracting candidates. Evan Stavisky, Bill Driscoll and Harry Giannoulis bring their years of political experience together to represent a dozen-plus odd Council candidates — maybe some of them aren’t too odd. They have a batch of other candidates throughout the city. <em>Queens Tribune, July 12, 2001</em><br /><br /><strong>Lobbying Group Parkside Takes In 7.5 Million from 2001 to 2006</strong><br /><br />"As the city examines the power that lobbyists exert on municipal government, new figures show the top influence-peddlers are hauling in big bucks. <br />According to a list compiled by the Citizens Union and obtained by The Post, the Parkside Group is the city's top-billing lobbying or consulting group, having earned $7.5 million in fees since 2001." <strong>- New York Post, Feburary 3, 2006 </strong><br /><br /><strong>Parkside Partner Helps Speaker Miller Choose New Chief of Staff</strong><br /><br /><strong>Miller Gets Help From Lobbyist In Finding a New Chief of Staff </strong><br />"The position is traditionally that of gatekeeper and top adviser to one of the city's most powerful officials. . . The lobbyist, Harry E. Giannoulis, a partner in the Parkside Group, a lobbying and political consulting firm, said yesterday that while he did not believe he had played a pivotal role in helping Mr. Miller choose his chief of staff, he had given the speaker advice on what to look for in a candidate and had advised some potential applicants to seek the job. He also participated in meetings at which candidates were discussed, according to Mr. Miller's staff. Mr. Giannoulis wears two hats, one as a consultant helping candidates get elected, another as a lobbyist, who then helps his clients gain access to the people he helps elect. It is a standard strategist-lobbyist model that is common in the city and in the federal government. In this case, Mr. Giannoulis acknowledges wearing both hats at the same time -- saying he is collecting a $2,000-a-month retainer from Mr. Miller's campaign committee for political work while also representing clients like the Telebeam Telecommunications Corporation of Long Island City, which owns pay phones throughout the city." <em>-New York Times, May 18, 2004 </em><br /><br />"Mr. Giannoulis said he had lobbied the speaker directly for his clients. It is his dual roles -- helping the speaker find a chief of staff and also lobbying the speaker on behalf of companies -- that have some government watchdog groups concerned, particularly given the power a chief of staff holds in terms of access to the speaker and in helping perform Council business." <em>-NY Sun, May 19 2004 </em><br /><br /><strong>Lobbyist Consultant role at City Hall Inappropriate</strong><br /><br /><strong>"Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, a nonprofit civic group that has no budget request before the city, said the competition for money among nonprofits had "created this frenzy" to hire lobbyists out of a belief that doing so would increase their chances of securing appropriations.</strong> He also expressed concern about what he called "a growing problem" of council members being lobbied by firms that serve as political consultants to many of them. <strong>"It's a closed circle of influence that is totally inappropriate," Mr. Dadey said.</strong> "It clearly gives a lobbyist who does campaign work unfair advantage, because it gives them a level of access to the elected official that they otherwise would not have." <em>- New York Times, June 22, 2005</em><br /><br /><strong>Miller Fund-Raiser's Ties to Lobbyist Raise Eyebrows With Watchdogs</strong><br /><br />"City Council Speaker Gifford Miller's fund-raising effort operated for 15 months in an office in the same lobbying firm that reportedly has advised him on selecting a new chief of staff. The executive director of Miller for New York, Lisa Esler, rented an office from the Parkside Group since February 2003 before relocating to another floor in the same Nassau Street building three weeks ago. Ms. Esler and aides to Mr. Miller said the space was rented by her consulting firm, The Esler Group, and not the campaign, although Miller for New York is paying for the new office, the aides and Ms. Esler said." <em>- New York Sun, May 19, 2004</em><br /><br /><em>Hidden Money Increase Power Insider Lobbyist</em><br /><br />The Council was rocked this week by news that for years staffers hid at least $17 million in the city budget by allocating the money to phony charities. Controlled by the speaker, the cash would then be doled out to legitimate groups with political pull or midyear emergencies. In 2001, there were five fake names shielding $1 million. It grew to dozens of names and about $4.5 million by last year, before Quinn said she found out about it. One of the original bogus groups - Murphy's Place - was named in honor of a former councilman who called an Irish staffer "Murphy" because he could not remember his real name, an ex-Council staffer said. She said she told senior finance staffers to quit it in the spring of 2007 - a contention backed up Friday by her chief of staff, Charles Meara. McShane did not explain why Quinn waited more than a year to order an end to the practice. investigators are believed to be looking into any shady ties between Council members and the nonprofits they fund with the body's multimillion-dollar pork budget. <em>– Daily News, April 5, 2008</em><br /><br /><em>What was going on in the Council Financial Office?</em><br />“Ms. Quinn is expected to replace Ms. Angelo with Michael P. Keogh, who worked most recently for the mayor's Office of State Legislative Affairs. Ms. Quinn was elected last month with the support of the Democratic organizations in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx, and has already started hiring party loyalists in return for their support, several council members and lobbyists said.”<br /><em>NY Times, Feburary 22, 2006</em><br /><br />Since the story about her aides channeling money into fake organizations broke, Christine Quinn has stressed that said aides were under direct orders for her not to do so. (She also says she knew about the practice of putting money aside, but not about the phantom organizations). In her initial press conference on the subject, Quinn said only that two members of her finance department no longer work for the council. She declined to name them, but it has now been reported that one of those staffers is Staci Emanuel, who reporters haven't had much luck tracking down. The other is Michael Keogh. When Keogh left the City Council, he landed a job at Bolton St. Johns. The powerful lobbying firm (it's ranked #2 in the city by revenue) - Azi Paybarah, The Politicker<br /><br />"Her finance director, Michael Keogh, has since joined Bolton-St. Johns, a lobbying firm where Emily Giske, a top official in the state Democratic Party and close ally of the speaker, also works. Quinn’s communications chief Jamie McShane said the speaker played no role in Keogh landing that job, and Keogh has told reporters he is cooperating with investigators. The most critical questions that must be answered relate to how the distributions of the discretionary money were made. Technically, it was a process Quinn controlled, but McShane, citing the ongoing investigations, was unable to provide the specifics on how funding decisions were made. If Quinn herself made the decisions, she ought to explain where she thought the money was coming from."<br /><br />In an appearance last night on the Perez Notes radio show, Council finance committee chair (and comptroller candidate) David Weprin said the Council slush fund incident, was a minor blip. These “fictitious groups,” Weprin said, never came before his committee or the Council as a whole – it was merely the work of a “couple of staff people.” <em>- Daily News Blog, July 31, 2008</em> <br /><br />Although the council speaker can have ultimate veto power, Fidler said other people scrutinize the member items. "Some of it gets decided by the member," Fidler explained. "Some of it gets decided by the borough delegation. Some of it gets decided by the speaker and some of it gets decided by the budget negotiating team." Who is the team?Zengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-52420181180722517972008-09-19T11:53:00.000-07:002008-10-18T11:56:37.277-07:00Gifford Miller's Campaign Fined for Violations of 2005<em>By BENJAMIN SARLIN, Special to the Sun | September 19, 2008</em>The city's Campaign Finance Board is ordering a former City Council speaker, Gifford Miller, to pay $13,835 in fines for violations incurred during his unsuccessful mayoral run in 2005.<br /><br />The bulk of the penalties, announced yesterday, stem from a fine for violating campaign spending limits. Mr. Miller did so by $10,410, and will now have to pay the same amount in fines. In addition to that penalty, Mr. Miller was issued violations for improper post-election expenditures ($750), for accepting nine over-the-limit contributions ($1,125), for accepting four contributions from unregistered political committees ($500), for accepting two contributions from corporations ($250), and for failing to properly report certain donations and expenditures ($850).<br /><br />An attorney for the Miller campaign, Laurence Laufer, said yesterday that his client would pay the fines and that the cost of challenging the ruling in court would likely exceed the violations themselves.<br /><br />"The Miller campaign has always made clear that it would abide by the city's campaign finance rules and we are pleased that after this complete three-year audit that the CFB found it was in virtually complete compliance," Mr. Laufer said in an interview. "The campaign chose not to contest the few minor violations that are alleged here."<br /><br />Mr. Miller clashed with the Campaign Finance Board during his 2005 mayoral run, claiming that $1.4 million in spending should not have been counted against his overall spending limit. After initially refusing to follow the board's decision, the state Supreme Court refused to block the board's ruling, leading him to cancel a series of ads he had planned to air with the money, according to the New York Times.<br />Also yesterday, an unsuccessful candidate for City Council in Brooklyn in 2007, Karlene Gordon, was ordered to pay $3,900 in fines for a series of violations, including accepting over-the-limit contributions, making non-campaign and improper post-campaign expenditures, and failing to respond to an audit before a deadline.Zengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-12088994436268876592008-07-17T18:06:00.000-07:002008-09-23T18:07:35.894-07:00Baseball"The local little league will no longer have to scrape by," said Evan Stavisky, a Democratic consultant. "The nature of politics is that the party in the majority has a better chance to secure things for their district. Democratic districts will benefit, and all but one or two districts in the Senate will be Democratic." <em>- AM New York, July 17, 2008</em><br /><br />"n integral part of the 186-page indictment against Mr. McLaughlin, 54, an influential politician and head of the nation’s biggest municipal labor council, is the detailed description of how prosecutors say he took donations for the league and carefully moved the funds between bank accounts to siphon $95,000. Part was used to pay rent on his apartment in Albany and part went for other personal expenses, according to the indictment."- New York Times, October 19, 2006<em></em>Zengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-89552876735534852482008-06-27T06:59:00.000-07:002008-06-27T07:01:47.929-07:00U.S. Inquiry Into Funding by Council Is to End SoonA federal investigation into the City Council’s appropriation of funds to fictitious groups should conclude within 90 days, a prosecutor said on Thursday.<br /><br />But the prosecutor, Rua M. Kelly, an assistant United States attorney who spoke at a hearing in State Supreme Court in Manhattan to determine whether the court would hold a separate public inquiry, did not indicate whether anyone would be charged. <br /><br />Federal investigators have been conducting a grand jury investigation into the City Council’s appropriation of discretionary funds to community groups.<br /><br />Ms. Kelly asked Justice Joan B. Lobis of State Supreme Court in Manhattan to delay any public inquiry for 90 days if she does indeed grant it.<br /><br />Holding a judicial inquiry before the federal investigation is complete would make it virtually impossible for the authorities to prosecute anyone because testimony from the inquiry is not permissible in a criminal proceeding, Ms. Kelly said. That means that federal prosecutors would have to show that their evidence came from somewhere other than the inquiry, Ms. Kelly said.<br /><br />“We think that 90 days would absolutely suffice to allow our investigation to go forward,” she said.<br /><br />Justice Lobis, who did not rule on Thursday, is expected to submit a written decision in the next few weeks. The judge did indicate that she would not do anything to compromise the federal investigation.<br /><br />The inquiry being sought is known as a judicial summary inquiry, and it comes from a rarely used section of the City Charter. The section, 1109, was created in 1873, a product of the Boss Tweed era, when the New York politician William M. Tweed bilked the city of hundreds of millions of dollars.<br /><br />The civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel is requesting the inquiry on behalf of eight New York taxpayers. The inquiry would not determine guilt or innocence, but would merely lay out the facts surrounding the case for public review.<br /><br />Mr. Siegel said he was fine with a 90-day stay and, in fact, welcomed Ms. Kelly’s news that the federal investigation was nearing completion.<br /><br />“New Yorkers anxiously await the result of that criminal investigation,” Mr. Siegel said outside the courtroom.<br /><br />Mr. Siegel said he thought that at the very least, a crime was committed by presenting fictitious charities in documents.<br /><br />“Someone intentionally designed this scheme,” he said. “It was no mistake.”<br /><br />Stephen Kitzinger, a lawyer for the city, said he believed Mr. Siegel’s request for a public inquiry was motivated by his desire to run for public advocate, an office he has sought twice before, in 2001 and 2005.<br /><br />“It would appear that this is a publicity stunt designed to promote a campaign,” Mr. Kitzinger said in court.<br /><br />Mr. Siegel denied that contention.<br />By JOHN ELIGON<br />Published: June 27, 2008 New York TimesZengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-36315007065107484632008-05-18T17:35:00.000-07:002008-09-21T17:39:30.038-07:00Miller Gets Help From Lobbyist In Finding a New Chief of Staff<em>New York Times, May 18, 2004, By MICHAEL SLACKMAN </em><br /><br /><strong>Council Speaker Gifford Miller has sought help from a lobbyist whose clients often have business before the City Council to fill a crucial position, the speaker's chief of staff. The role is traditionally that of gatekeeper and top adviser to one of the city's most powerful officials. <br /><br />The lobbyist, Harry E. Giannoulis, a partner in the Parkside Group, a lobbying and political consulting firm, said yesterday that while he did not believe he had played a pivotal role in helping Mr. Miller choose his chief of staff, he had given the speaker advice on what to look for in a candidate and had advised some potential applicants to seek the job. He also participated in meetings at which candidates were discussed, according to Mr. Miller's staff. </strong><br /><br />''I have encouraged people who have talked to me about it to apply if I think they are good for, or if I think the fit would be good,'' Mr. Giannoulis said yesterday, adding that he had had dozens of conversations with people who have called asking him: ''What's the deal? Is the job open? What's the speaker looking for?'' <br /><br />Mr. Giannoulis wears two hats, one as a consultant helping candidates get elected, another as a lobbyist, who then helps his clients gain access to the people he helps elect. It is a standard strategist-lobbyist model that is common in the city and in the federal government. In this case, Mr. Giannoulis acknowledges wearing both hats at the same time -- saying he is collecting a $2,000-a-month retainer from Mr. Miller's campaign committee for political work while also representing clients like the Telebeam Telecommunications Corporation of Long Island City, which owns pay phones throughout the city. <br /><br />Mr. Giannoulis said he had lobbied the speaker directly for his clients. It is his dual roles -- helping the speaker find a chief of staff and also lobbying the speaker on behalf of companies -- that have some government watchdog groups concerned, particularly given the power a chief of staff holds in terms of access to the speaker and in helping perform Council business. <br /><br />''You can't deny the speaker his right as an employer to cast a wide net to get a highly capable chief of staff,'' said Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, a government watchdog group. ''But having a well-known lobbyist involved in the recruitment and screening of candidates for such an influential position raises serious questions, like how does the future chief of staff deal with a request from the Parkside Group if that lobbyist or firm helped that very same chief of staff get his or her job? It may not create a conflict, but it may certainly give the impression of one.'' <br /><br />Mr. Miller's office said yesterday that Mr. Giannoulis had not played a central role in the search for a chief of staff. Stephen Sigmund, Mr. Miller's director of communications, said the search was being headed by two of the speaker's staff members who are overseeing the collection of résumés, vetting and interviewing. After months of searching for a new chief of staff, there are three finalists left, Mr. Sigmund said, adding that Mr. Miller will ultimately decide who gets the job. Mr. Sigmund said that he expects the job to be filled in a few weeks. <br /><br />''The premise that he is driving this process or even anything akin to that is just, just not real,'' Mr. Sigmund said of Mr. Giannoulis. <br /><br />''The only role that Harry has had in a couple of meetings, the subject has come up,'' Mr. Sigmund said. ''He has given some input on what kind of qualifications and qualities in what a good candidate would have.'' <br /><br />Mr. Sigmund also said that Mr. Giannoulis put forward the name of one candidate -- an assertion that Mr. Giannoulis denied, saying instead that he told many people who approached him first that if they were interested in the post, they should apply directly themselves. Mr. Giannoulis said that his role with Mr. Miller was no different from the role many lobbyists-strategists have with clients, and that to avoid any potential conflict, his firm discloses all its clients, as is required by law. <br /><br />Mr. Giannoulis said his role in selecting the chief of staff was minimal. ''I could not tell you all the people he has interviewed, how many people he has interviewed, and I couldn't tell you who he might be hiring,'' he said. <br /><br />The Parkside Group has had a long and successful relationship with Mr. Miller. It helped him in his two runs for Council and later aided him in his bid to become speaker. The group is also expected to work with Mr. Miller should he follow through on his plans to run for mayor. The firm recently joined the ranks of the top 10 lobbying firms in New York City, Mr. Giannoulis said. <br /><br />The relationship between Mr. Miller and his political consulting firm started to raise eyebrows among Democrats at a time when his performance as speaker is coming under increasing scrutiny. Mr. Miller has been facing allegations that he has failed to properly handle a sexual harassment case filed against another council member, and he has struggled to assert his authority as leader of the Democratic majority in the Council. With a crowded field of Democrats hoping to take on Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg next year, some are hoping Mr. Miller's missteps prove fatal to his ambitions. <br /><br />But Mr. Miller's problems may stem at least in part from not having a permanent chief of staff, political strategists said. A chief of staff often acts as an alter ego to his boss and, depending on the relationship that develops, is often pivotal in setting and carrying out an agenda -- as well as serving as a shield against political fallout. Mr. Miller has been looking for a chief of staff since Forrest Taylor announced his resignation in February.Zengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-25703441792620616782008-05-17T08:39:00.000-07:002008-10-02T08:46:03.774-07:00Ex-Speaker Hires Lawyer in Inquiry<em>By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM and RAY RIVERA, New York Times, May 17, 2008</em><br /><br />Gifford Miller, the former City Council speaker, has hired a criminal defense lawyer to represent him in a federal investigation into the Council’s longstanding practice of allocating millions of dollars to phantom nonprofit groups, people involved in the case said on Friday.<br /><br /><strong>Gifford Miller, at a 2005 news conference, has kept a low profile since the investigation into Council spending was disclosed. </strong><br /><br />The Council, which had hired a criminal lawyer to represent itself in the inquiry by federal prosecutors and the City Department of Investigation, recently hired another one to represent staff members who were being questioned, several of the people said.<br /><br />The two lawyers, along with a third criminal defense lawyer representing the current speaker, Christine C. Quinn, are being paid with city funds; Mr. Miller’s lawyer, Henry Putzel III, is not.<br /><br />Mr. Putzel said in a brief statement that the former speaker “had done nothing wrong, and when the facts are fully developed, I am quite sure that everyone will conclude as much.” He said that his client intends “to cooperate fully.”<br /><br />Other than Ms. Quinn, Council officials said no one else in the 51-member Council had sought to have the city pay for individual legal representation, even though several have had to defend their spending in the face of news reports about allocations to nonprofit groups that hired council members’ friends, relatives and staff members. It was unclear, however, whether any council members had retained lawyers with their own money.<br /><br />While no member of the Council has been singled out for scrutiny by investigators, the authorities have indicated that the inquiry is broad, aggressive and continuing along two tracks. First, it is examining the practice of squirreling away millions of dollars in the name of phantom organizations; second, it is reviewing how individual council members have directed their discretionary spending to nonprofit groups, and how the groups have spent it.<br /><br />As a result, Council officials on Friday sent a memo to members outlining the process by which they can seek to have the Council pay for defense lawyers.<br /><br />Mr. Miller, who served as speaker from January 2002 until December 2005, has kept a low profile since the investigation was disclosed in April.<br /><br />The Council’s use of fictitious organizations to hold money in reserve dated to at least the 1990s, when Peter F. Vallone Sr. was the speaker. The practice, records show, expanded after Mr. Miller took over the following year and the names of the phantom groups became more legitimate-sounding.<br /><br />Ms. Quinn, who has worked to increase transparency in the budget process, has said that when she learned of the practice last year she ordered that it be stopped.<br /><br />Defense lawyers and prosecutors not involved in the case said it was routine — and common sense — for anyone who may be approached during an investigation to hire a lawyer.<br /><br />“The smart thing to do is to hire a lawyer to figure out what the prosecutors think and want,” Edward A. McDonald, a white-collar defense lawyer who prosecuted public corruption cases as an assistant United States attorney, said in an e-mail message. One person involved in the case said that Evan Barr, the defense lawyer hired to represent Council staff members, had accompanied “a handful” of witnesses who had been interviewed.<br /><br />Anxiety has been building among council members since the investigation was disclosed and Ms. Quinn revealed that she had been asked to turn over hundreds of pages of documents to the city and federal investigators. Less than two weeks later, federal authorities announced the indictment of two aides to Councilman Kendall Stewart of Brooklyn on charges that they had embezzled $145,000 from a group he funded.<br /><br />Last month, Steven R. Peikin, the lawyer retained by the Council to represent it, briefed members about the inquiry.<br /><br />In the memo sent on Friday, the Council’s Office of General Counsel said it and the city’s corporation counsel would decide to provide outside representation for council members on a case-by-case basis. <br /><br />The decision, the memo said, would depend on several prerequisites, including a requirement that the council member or employee did not engage in intentional wrongdoing and cooperated with the investigation.<br /><br />The ripples of the investigation are being felt throughout city government. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s office this week detailed a little-known fund that it uses to finance council member items and outlined steps to tighten control over that process. <br /><br />City agencies also have begun denying access to public documents about city contracts involving council member items, citing the investigation.Zengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-63607438747728028352007-09-22T09:54:00.000-07:002008-10-02T09:56:16.510-07:00Gifford Miller takes another rap as audit slams contracts<em>Saturday, September 22nd 2007, Daily News</em>
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<br />The City Council played fast and loose in awarding $1.67 million in printing work under former Speaker Gifford Miller, a city audit charged yesterday.
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<br />The report said competitive bidding requirements were skirted by splitting big contracts into several smaller ones that didn't reach the $5,000 bidding threshold.
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<br />The few times bids were requested, affiliated companies were allowed to submit rival bids - raising the prospect of price fixing, the audit said.
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<br />The findings by city Controller William Thompson rub salt into old wounds for Miller, who left the Council at the end of 2005 because of term limits - just three months after he finished fourth in the Democratic primary for mayor.
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<br />Although the audit doesn't fault Miller individually, it focuses on the blizzard of constituent mailings that he had authorized back in August 2005.
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<br />Initially, his office had reported mailing only 100,000 flyers, which featured Miller and touted the Council's budget positions, at a cost of $37,000. But a few days later, Miller aides admitted 5.5 million flyers had been mailed at a cost of $1.6 million.
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<br />By "intentionally splitting these printing purchases the Council was disregarding its responsibilities and neglecting its obligation to the City of New York," the audit concluded.
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<br />Miller, 38, now a business consultant, did not return a call for comment.
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<br />Thompson spokesman Jeff Simmons said the audit found no criminality.
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<br />Frank Lombardi
<br />Zengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-57314215828313399192007-09-21T14:09:00.000-07:002008-10-18T14:10:38.346-07:00Thompson: Council Broke Multiple Rules Under MillerDaily News Blog, September 21, 2007<br />Comptroller Bill Thompson released an audit of Council purchasing from July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2005 (during ex-Speaker Gifford Miller’s tenure) that found the Council violated the city charter, its own rules and Procurement Policy Board rules, including spending $1.67 million on printing without entering into formal contracts.<br /><br />“Instead of awarding a printing contract through competition, the Council intentionally split printing orders or made several small purchases for individual members to prevent the total from reaching the $5,000 threshold for competition,” Thompson said.<br />It’s a little bit techincal, but here’s the upshot, from Thompson’s report:<br /><br />In general, the City Charter and the PPB rules require that contracts be awarded through competition. Instead?ith the exception of three purchases totaling $35,470?he Council split printing orders or made several small purchases by individual Council members to prevent the total from reaching the $5,000 threshold for small purchases above which would have required the solicitation of bids from five vendors or a full public procurement.<br />The Council also:<br /><br />- Let permitted affiliated companies to submit competing bids against each other for the same proposa.<br /><br />- Used miscellaneous vouchers for all Member purchases and ?hared?expenditures, totaling $3.49 million, violating a Comptroller’s directive.<br /><br />- Broke Council and PPB rules when making OTPS expenditures from its Central Office by not obtaining bids on purchases that exceeded $500 (Council rules) and $5,000 (PPB rules).<br /><br />- Did not use requirement contracts in 22 instances when procuring various items totaling $14,232.<br /><br />- Made improper and questionable payments, totaling $54,939.<br /><br />- Made improper and questionable imprest fund payments, totaling $2,837.<br /><br />During the 2005 mayor’s race, questions were raised about Miller’s use of in-house mailings. He defended the practice - which, it should be noted, is a routinely engaged in endeavor - as legal.<br /><br />UPDATE: Thompson spokesman Jeff Simmons said no evidence of criminality was found in the audit, and thus it was not forwarded to DOI. (Yes, that’s fixed. Writing too fast. Sorry).Zengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-24843082648851318722006-12-12T13:07:00.000-08:002008-09-24T13:08:40.061-07:00Stavisky Helps McLaughlin Run for MayorHe had first talked about a mayoral candidacy in the late '90s, an idea that failed to gain traction. But the notion gained new life after new mayor Michael Bloomberg hiked property taxes, evoking anger among middle-class families. In early 2003, polls showed any Democrat could beat Bloomberg nearly 2-1. <br /><br />McLaughlin huddled with his political advisers, his former chief of staff, Evan Stavisky, and union lobbyist Bob Ungar, and asked top gurus like Hank Sheinkopf for advice. He hired a full-time fundraising consultant, a young woman named Jackie Rovine, parked her in an office upstairs from the labor council on West 15th Street, and began trying to raise as much campaign cash as he could. – Village Voice, December 12, 2006Zengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-1241292560510709032006-02-21T17:23:00.000-08:002008-09-21T17:27:53.690-07:00Influence Peddlers: Trade secrets of the city's fastest-growing lobbying firm<em>by Tom Robbins Village Voice, February 21st, 2006</em><br /><br />Talk about a bad news day. On February 8, a major city bank learned that it was going to be slammed that very afternoon at a City Hall press conference for lending money to slumlords. A group called Housing Here and Now was accusing New York Community Bank of hiking the misery index in poor neighborhoods by funneling mortgages to bad landlords. Worse, the new City Council Speaker, Christine Quinn, was due to participate as well. What to do? The bankers picked up the phone and dialed the lobbying equivalent of 9-<br /><br />The call went to William Driscoll, a grizzled veteran of Queens politics and partner in a government-relations practice called the Parkside Group. The appropriately named Parkside Group can see City Hall Park from the windows of its spacious Nassau Street offices, and it immediately dispatched troops across the street to see what was up. When the aides arrived and began taking notes, a puzzled member of Quinn's staff asked what they were doing. "We just got hired," came the response. <br /><br /><strong>Chalk up one more client for New York's fastest-growing lobbying firm. Launched in late 2000 by a trio of Queens political figures, Parkside has prospered mightily, thanks in no small part to its ties to the Queens Democratic organization and the council's leaders. City and state disclosure forms show that Parkside took in a whopping $2.2 million last year in fees from 52 clients, a figure that could make it the city's top earner in the lobbying business once those totals are officially compiled by the city clerk. Whatever its ranking, Parkside's revenues have risen faster than the price of oil, up from the $490,000 it earned in 2002. </strong><br /><br />And that's just the lobbying end of things. The firm has also helped elect many of the same political officials it lobbies. Fifteen members of the current council have used Parkside as a campaign consultant. In last year's elections, city candidates spent more than $550,000 for campaign assistance from the firm. Among them was former Council Speaker Gifford Miller, who became so close to Parkside after it helped him win his post that he asked one of its partners to help him hire a chief of staff. In 2004, Miller launched his ill-fated drive to become mayor right from Parkside's offices. <br /><br />But for all of the firm's vaunted influence and access, the bank called at a lousy time. That's because there's been a growing buzz about how lobbyists have become the new permanent government for a council that, thanks to term limits, faces constant turnover in members and staff. And Quinn, while owing her own position to many of the same political patrons allied with Parkside, was already looking for a way to place some distance between herself and the influence peddlers. <br /><br />One council insider said that Parkside's abrupt appearance at the press conference helped galvanize Quinn's decision to unveil a set of reforms right away. "What pissed her off was the assumption that this was the way to reach her," said the source. <br /><br />On February 16, Quinn stood with Mayor Bloomberg to announce new proposals that would limit lobbyists' access, compel greater disclosure, and double fines for violations. The city's two top officials said they didn't want to wait for scandals like those in Washington and Albany to happen here. What was needed, said Quinn, was a drive to "reduce the influence of special interests in city government." <br /><br />It's unclear just how these new measures will be enforced, as the legislation has not been submitted. But major issues remain unaddressed. One is the convenient distinction drawn by some firms that visits to city officials are "legal work"—which doesn't require disclosure—not lobbying. Also unresolved is how to cope with firms like Parkside that lobby the people they help to elect (a city hearing last month heard strong testimony that to bar such representation would violate First Amendment protections). <br /><br />Still, the reforms are a good beginning, said ethics watchdog Megan Quattlebaum of Common Cause/NY, though she added, "The devil will be in the details." <br /><br />Sitting in their new offices recently, two of Parkside's partners said they could live with any new rules. "From a public policy viewpoint, we think stating who is lobbying whom, and for what duration, is fine. It's a great thing," said Harry Giannoulis, a jovial former Democratic gubernatorial aide who serves as a member of the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission. "As someone smarter than me said, 'Sunshine is the best disinfectant,' " added partner Evan Stavisky, the wonkish son of a pair of state legislators. <br /><br />Parkside gets high marks from those clients willing to talk about it. "They are terrifically skilled lobbyists," said a representative of the city's Central Labor Council, which pays $5,000 a month for the firm's advice. <br /><br />But the city's laissez-faire attitude about lobbying rules is highlighted by Parkside's disclosure reports to the city clerk, which shroud its work in mystery. Question 6(A) asks for the "Individual and Entity lobbied." For all of its clients, the firm affixes the same adhesive sticker on its filings: "NYC Legislative & Executive; NYS Legislative & Executive." Another question asks the specific subject matter. Parkside slaps on another all-embracing sticker: "Public Policy and Legislation." <br /><br />That's its response for Entergy, a giant utility that paid Parkside $78,000 last year to help make sure a pesky council resolution calling for the shutdown of the Indian Point nuclear plant wasn't resurrected. And that's also the response for each of the 30 not-for-profit organizations (most of them Queens-based) that pay Parkside $4,000 to $6,000 per month for very different assistance—to help win council funding grants (the firm has a near perfect batting average). <br /><br />"You want to have as broad a category as possible so that you are not leaving anyone out. It is consciously broad," explained Giannoulis. "You don't want to be uninclusive," added Stavisky. <br /><br />Pressed as to whether the stickers complied with even the clerk's minimal rules, Giannoulis later acknowledged he had somehow missed the instructions calling for specific answers that are posted on the city's website. "We may have some refiling to do," he said. <br /><br />But the lobbyists still remain the soul of discretion when asked exactly what they do for their customers. What about Fresh Direct, the fast-growing (and non-union) home grocery delivery company whose trucks now crowd city streets, and which paid Parkside $48,000 last year? "I don't think for the purposes of this interview we are going to discuss what we do for individual clients," said Stavisky. <br /><br />On the other hand, they're happy to describe the method behind their fast rise to the top: "We are very good and we work really hard," said Giannoulis. "It is a lot of work. It is hard work. You start from morning and you go to night, and you work weekends." <br /><br />Connections also help. Driscoll, the eldest of the trio, declined to be interviewed about his own work habits, but he has labored for decades for various Queens pols, including serving as chief of staff to former congressman Tom Manton, who has ruled the Queens Democratic Party organization since shortly after its 1980s scandals. <br /><br />The job brought its perks. Between 1995 and 2001, Driscoll, an attorney, pulled in more than $320,000 in fees from guardianship appointments he received from judges installed by Manton. Even after 1998, when he became part-time counsel to the Queens County clerk, he kept getting the appointments—though he should have been banned from further guardianships, as a 2000 Newsday article noted. How had that issue been resolved? <br /><br />"As our business was growing he stopped doing the things in question, so it became kind of moot," said Stavisky. <br /><br />Yet Manton's shadow looms over much of the firm's success. Parkside has run winning campaigns for many candidates backed by the Queens Democratic machine. "We have been proud to be on the right side of some of Tom Manton's right choices," said Giannoulis, citing the firm's campaign work for the city's first Asian American elected official (Councilman John Liu), as well as the borough's first Latino (Assemblyman José Peralta). <br /><br />But the firm isn't about to buck Manton's choices. <br /><br />Parkside initially backed a Democratic organization candidate against Queens councilman James Gennaro in the 2001 election. It was Gennaro, chair of the council's environmental committee, who introduced the anti-nuke resolution that Parkside has vigorously opposed on behalf of its utility client. The resolution died, opposed by an overwhelming majority, and has not been reintroduced. When Gennaro ran for re-election last year, this time with Democratic organization support, Parkside ran his campaign. A Gennaro spokesman said the two events were unrelated, as did Giannoulis. <br /><br />"This is the complete opposite of a problem," said the lobbyist. "This shows that a political client of ours can have a different position than our lobbying client." <br /><br />Giannoulis himself has enjoyed his own patronage perks. In 1998, he was appointed by former council leader Peter Vallone to the city's taxi commission. The following year, Giannoulis was listed as the intermediary for some $10,000 worth of contributions from taxi industry figures to Vallone's failed mayoral campaign. Giannoulis acknowledged that such solicitations would be improper but insisted the filings were a mistake, one he had tried to correct: "I was there, but I never raised money. They were supposed to have clarified that a long time ago." Vallone's campaign treasurer, however, said the filings were accurate and that he had no recollection of Giannoulis complaining about it.Zengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-10107245453615215552006-02-03T09:01:00.000-08:002008-09-24T09:05:16.627-07:00More Political Consultants Are Lobbyists, Too<em>By MIKE McINTIRE - The New York Times - February 3, 2006</em><br /><br />More political consultants in New York have taken on the second role of lobbyists over the last five years, prompting good-government advocates to press the city's ethics board to revive attempts to regulate the practice.<br /><br />An analysis by Citizens Union, a nonprofit policy group, shows that half of the top 10 consultant-lobbyists last year earned no money from lobbying in 2001, but gradually adopted the practice, sometimes lobbying the same public officials they helped elect. Altogether, those 10 firms earned $32 million from lobbying and consulting from 2002 to 2005, according to the analysis, which the group intends to present today to the Conflicts of Interest Board.<br /><br />Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, said the growing trend underscored the need for the city to strengthen its lobbying laws. He said elected officials who pay consultant-lobbyists for their advice, and then encounter them in their role as lobbyists, face potential ethical dilemmas.<br /><br />"When a consultant recommends to the candidate that the candidate take a position on a particular issue, how impartial is that advice?" said Mr. Dadey. "When a campaign consultant invoices his candidate, but is also working for a lobbying client, will the consultant discount the bill because the consultant knows there may be greater access in the future to the candidate if elected?"<br /><br />The board has scheduled a public hearing on the issue at 9 a.m. today at New York Law School. It held an earlier hearing on the same topic last Friday.<br />The hearings are the board's latest attempt to wrestle with the issue of consultant-lobbyists. Last year, it issued a memo saying consultants hired by public officials "may not lobby or in any other way communicate" with those officials on behalf of private clients.<br /><br />The board quickly rescinded the memo after some of the firms threatened to file a lawsuit, saying the prohibition infringed on their constitutional right to free speech. Now, the board is collecting opinions from all sides on whether it should try again.<br /><br />At last week's hearing, E. Joshua Rosenkranz, a lawyer for a group of lobbyist-consultants, said "the sort of regulation the board is considering is beyond the limited power that the City Charter bestows on the board," and that even if it did have the power, any such regulation would be unconstitutional.Zengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-679474242953828632006-02-03T07:14:00.000-08:002008-09-24T07:17:35.422-07:00LOBBY LIST REVEALS THE HIGH PRICE OF INFLUENCE<em>New York Post, Feb 3, 2006</em> <br /> <br />As the city examines the power that lobbyists exert on municipal government, new figures show the top influence-peddlers are hauling in big bucks. <br />According to a list compiled by the Citizens Union and obtained by The Post, the Parkside Group is the city's top-billing lobbying or consulting group, having earned $7.5 million in fees since 2001. <br /><br />Among the group's high-powered clients is former City Council Speaker Gifford Miller. It has also lobbied Miller on behalf of several clients. <br /><br />Kasirer Consulting was next on the list, with $6.5 million. Its clients have included City Comptroller William Thompson. <br /><br />Mirram Global, which guided Fernando Ferrer's failed mayoral bid and was co-founded by former Bronx Democratic boss Robert Ramirez, has taken in $5.2 million since 2001. <br /><br />Hank Sheinkopf, who represents Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, earned $4.7 million. <br />The list was disclosed as the city's Conflict of Interest Board winds up its public hearings today on whether to push a rule barring lobbyists from doubling as political consultants. <br /><br />But the Citizens Union is arguing that that the further regulation of lobbyists should be addressed by the mayor and the City Council, not the board.Zengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-77242041650900462462005-06-22T17:28:00.000-07:002008-09-21T17:34:15.705-07:00Lobbyist Has a Dual Role at City Hall<em>By MIKE McINTIRE Published: June 22, 2005 New York Times</em><br /><br />It is all there on a single orange-trimmed page: a series of spending priorities that would cost New York taxpayers up to $17,371,000. And for the past week, it has circulated quietly among City Council members as they work to complete a city budget by July 1.<br /><br />At City Hall, some nonprofit groups, "even the small ones, feel the only way they can get in the door is to hire a lobbyist," one councilman said. <br /><br />While it was not an official document, its authorship made it unlikely to be ignored. It came from the Parkside Group, a firm that has carved out a dual role in New York politics: as lobbyist for nonprofit groups seeking city money and as a political consultant to a dozen council members, including the speaker and the Finance Committee chairman, who have a major hand in approving budget requests from those same groups.<br /><br />Although the City Hall steps are often clotted with people buttonholing politicians with leaflets and whispered pleas for money, the unusually expensive requests found in the Parkside memo, and a few others like it, touched a nerve for some council members and good-government groups. They say it represents a culture of lobbying that is spiraling out of control.<br /><br />The memo is one of several that have been distributed to council members by professional lobbyists, who are increasingly being hired, often for $40,000 to $60,000 a year, by nonprofit organizations that want city money for the health, cultural and social service programs they operate. The amount paid to lobbyists by these and other clients seeking influence in City Hall hit a record $34 million last year.<br /><br />"I think it's unfortunate that a lot of these nonprofit groups, even the small ones, feel the only way they can get in the door is to hire a lobbyist. That's disgraceful," said Councilman Tony Avella, Democrat of Queens. "They shouldn't have to go out and hire these people, at exorbitant fees, which comes out of the money we give them."<br /><br /><strong>Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, a nonprofit civic group that has no budget request before the city, said the competition for money among nonprofits had "created this frenzy" to hire lobbyists out of a belief that doing so would increase their chances of securing appropriations. He also expressed concern about what he called "a growing problem" of council members being lobbied by firms that serve as political consultants to many of them.</strong><br /><br /><strong>"It's a closed circle of influence that is totally inappropriate," Mr. Dadey said. "It clearly gives a lobbyist who does campaign work unfair advantage, because it gives them a level of access to the elected official that they otherwise would not have."</strong><br /><br />For its part, Parkside has defended its ability to be a consultant to elected officials and to lobby those same politicians on behalf of private clients. Earlier this year, after threatening to go to court, the firm succeeded in getting the city's Conflicts of Interest Board to withdraw a new guideline that would have effectively prohibited the practice.<br /><br />Yesterday, Evan Stavisky, a Parkside partner, said the firm's political consulting gave it no advantages in seeking budget requests. He also said the total amount being sought by Parkside was not a lot in the context of a $50 billion budget. "It's not surprising that as you're coming out of some of the toughest budget times in recent memory, they're looking to make the case that the work they're doing requires greater support," Mr. Stavisky said. "And as these nonprofits are asked to do more and more, it's also not surprising that they're asking the city to help them do that."<br /><br />Mr. Stavisky added that it was Parkside's policy to require that none of its nonprofit clients paid their lobbying fees from the proceeds of city money appropriated for them during the budget process.<br /><br />Parkside was paid a total of $1.7 million by more than 40 clients last year, many of them nonprofits, according to the city clerk's office, which tracks lobbyist registrations. Only four firms reported higher earnings, including Kasirer Consulting, whose principal, Suri Kasirer, is also a political consultant.<br />Other lobbyists and nonprofit groups have also been distributing wish lists to council members during the budget negotiations, during which the Council is trying to decide how to divvy up roughly $200 million available for community groups in the city budget for the 2006 fiscal year, which starts July 1.<br /><br />The Dryfoos Group is circulating an 11-page memo that requests $14 million for groups including Big Brothers Big Sisters, the American Folk Art Museum and the South Street Seaport Museum.<br />In interviews over the last few days, half a dozen council members complained about the lobbying, which they said seemed intense this year. Several cited the Parkside memo, which is actually the cover sheet for a binder that was less widely circulated and contained details of each request from groups like the Church Avenue Merchants Block Association and NYC & Company.<br /><br />One member waved the memo dismissively and likened it to a bank robber's demand note. Another called the $17.4 million being sought "ridiculously large," but added that it had to be taken seriously because of the firm's perceived relationship with the speaker, Gifford Miller, for whom Parkside has consulted in recent years. In fact, it was a measure of Parkside's perceived clout that none of those who criticized the firm were willing to be quoted by name.<br /><br />Councilman David I. Weprin, chairman of the Finance Committee, said he did not see a problem with Parkside's lobbying effort, and he called the memo helpful for "consolidating the programs and amounts being sought."<br /><br />"In my opinion, having an advocate, whether it be a professionally paid lobbyist or somebody who works full time for the organization, doesn't change the substance of what they're advocating," he said. "The question is, what's the substance behind it?"<br />In addition to sitting in judgment of Parkside's budget requests, Mr. Weprin is also a Parkside client. He could be seen stopping to chat with Parkside executives on his way out of a budget meeting earlier this week.Zengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-88839539416390820002005-05-15T16:14:00.000-07:002008-09-24T16:16:24.205-07:00Parkside Lobbyies for Voting Machines"EVAN STAVISKY of the Parkside Group, which represents another voting machine company, Danaher Controls Inc., said he, too, had been talking to officials in New York City and elsewhere.<br />Parkside is a busy city lobbying firm. It has worked on the campaigns of more than a dozen City Council members, including the speaker, Gifford Miller. One of its partners is Harry Giannoulis, a member of the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission, and Mr. Stavisky is well connected in Albany, where his mother is State Senator Tobi Ann Stavisky, Democrat of Queens." - New York Times, May 15, 205Zengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-32994462299635976052005-03-03T16:54:00.000-08:002008-09-24T16:56:48.541-07:00Conflicts Board Rescinds Memo on Lobbying<em>By MIKE McINTIRE NY Times,March 3, 2005</em><br /><br /><br />Under pressure from lobbying-and-consulting firms, the city's Conflicts of Interest Board has backed away from its first attempt to restrict lobbying of elected officials by consultants who work on their campaigns.<br /><br />The board caused a stir in political circles in January when it issued a memo reminding municipal employees of the ethical rules for taking part in campaigns, which included a new admonition against lobbying by political consultants. It said consultants hired by public officials "may not lobby or in any other way communicate" with those officials on behalf of private clients.<br /><br />But yesterday, the board circulated a revised version of the memo with that section omitted. In an e-mail message to city officials, the board's counsel, Wayne G. Hawley, said that the earlier memo "does not necessarily reflect the current state of the law as interpreted by the board" and that the board had not placed any "impediments on lobbying of public servants by campaign consultants."<br /><br />It is becoming increasingly common in New York politics for firms to take on the dual roles of political consultancy and lobbying, an arrangement that some ethics watchdogs say compromises the elected officials involved, because consultants could wield huge influence with the politicians they help put into office. Before it reversed course this week, the Conflicts of Interest Board, the agency charged with regulating ethics in the municipal workplace, appeared to have broken new ground by taking up the issue.<br /><br />The board's abrupt about-face occurred after a group of lobbyist-consultants threatened to fight the restriction in court, on the ground that it violated their right to free speech. The group's lawyer, E. Joshua Rosenkranz, who specializes in First Amendment cases, said the board overstepped by extending its authority to political professionals outside of government.<br /><br />"The board can only regulate public servants," he said. "This is an agency that is supposed to be focusing on conflicts of interest, self-dealing. No one anointed them regulators of political activities."<br /><br />In a brief telephone interview yesterday, the chairman of the Conflicts of Interest Board, Steven B. Rosenfeld, refused to discuss the matter. He would not explain how the original memo came to be issued, what the board's position is on lobbying by political consultants or whether the board intended to address it again in the future.<br /><br />Last week, before the board moved to rescind the new restriction, Mr. Hawley described it as guidance for public officials that did not carry the same weight as a formal opinion or ruling. Still, it represented the first time a city agency had addressed the potential for conflicts posed by political consultants who serve as lobbyists.<br /><br />The hiring of lobbyist-consultants crosses party lines and involves all branches of city government.<br /><br />The Parkside Group, for instance, has worked on the campaigns of more than a dozen City Council members, including the speaker, Gifford Miller, and has also lobbied the Council on behalf of private clients. Maureen Connelly worked on Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's 2001 campaign, and then returned to her lobbying firm, which represented clients with business before the Bloomberg administration. <br /><br />Mr. Rosenkranz declined to say which lobbyist-consultants he was representing, although others involved in the case said Parkside was among them. He said "there is no question" that he would have won a lawsuit against the board if it had not rescinded its action.<br /><br />"The upshot of their proposal was that politically engaged citizens in New York City would have to choose between two forms of constitutionally protected activity: They can help candidates get elected, or they can petition the government, but they cannot do both," he said. "And the First Amendment says the government does not get to allocate those rights."<br /><br />The board's confused handling of the issue left some city officials feeling whipsawed. William T. Cunningham, the mayor's communications director, said he was troubled that the board - whose members are appointed by the mayor - did not seem willing or able to stand behind its conclusion that lobbyist-consultants need to be regulated.<br /><br />"It seems like what they did was issue a verdict, and then try to take it back and say it never existed," he said. "I'm sorry, but the verdict was read in open court and the jury heard it."Zengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-63213924678374765992005-01-22T16:20:00.000-08:002008-09-24T16:22:10.667-07:00Miller Outspending Most Mayoral RivalsCity Council Speaker Gifford Miller has already poured nearly $1 million into his campaign for mayor, outspending all his Democratic rivals and signaling an early start to what is likely to be one of the most expensive elections in city history.<br />Mr. Miller has spent more than $931,000 on his campaign since 2002 - about half of that in the last year alone, according to reports filed this week with the Campaign Finance Board. <br /> <br />But Mr. Miller's spending has not helped him advance in the polls, where he remains behind Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and two Democratic candidates: Fernando Ferrer, the former Bronx Borough president, and C. Virginia Fields, the Manhattan Borough president. <br /><br />Mr. Miller has sought to play down his efforts, saying he is focusing instead on his work in the Council. "It's months and months and months from an election that I haven't officially announced for, and that people really aren't concerned about," Mr. Miller said at a news conference on Wednesday at City Hall. Yet despite such disclaimers, the recent spending reports filed by Mr. Miller and other likely candidates show that the race has begun in earnest. <br /><br />The unknown factor is Mayor Bloomberg, who spent more than $73 million of his own money on his 2001 campaign. The mayor, who does not take part in the city's campaign finance program, has not yet been required to disclose his expenses. "We file everything we're required to file when it's due - it hasn't happened yet," said William T. Cunningham, his director of communications. <br /><br />An analysis of Mr. Miller's campaign expenses shows that the bulk of it, or more than $470,000, has been used to support an extensive fund-raising operation that has already brought in more than $4.2 million in campaign contributions. For instance, Mr. Miller paid more than $200,000 alone to the Esler Group for fund-raising and campaign consulting.<br /><br />He also spent $40,000 on catering from Noche, a nightclub that is out of business, $17,800 for a 2002 birthday party and fund-raiser at Studio 54, and $15,000 for a similar party in November at the Ritz-Carlton in Battery Park. Other expenses included more than $80,000 for designing, printing and mailing invitations to his events, $4,000 for flowers, $700 for gift baskets from Harry and David, and $650 for Latin dancers from Studio Zamora.<br /><br />The Parkside Group, a lobbying group with close ties to Mr. Miller, received nearly $21,000 in graphic design and printing fees for his fund-raisers, and Global Strategy Group, a political consulting and polling organization, was paid $4,700 to cover expenses for holding a fund-raiser for Mr. Miller.<br /><br />Brian Hardwick, Mr. Miller's campaign manager, said that as their campaign moves forward, more money would be spent on efforts to reach voters like political ads and direct mailings. "We feel very encouraged by the position we're in to start the campaign in 2005," he said. "We have a lot to show for what we've spent."<em> - January 22, 2005</em>Zengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-6994562705139890782004-05-22T16:25:00.000-07:002008-09-24T16:33:56.656-07:00Mayor Backs New Limits On Donations To CampaignsMayor Michael R. Bloomberg called yesterday for a law to prohibit individuals or companies that do business with the New York City government from making contributions to candidates for city offices. <br /><br />''It's just too obvious a conflict of interest,'' the mayor said on his weekly radio show on WABC-AM. ''If you do business with the city, you shouldn't be allowed to contribute to any campaign. It doesn't take away your rights; you don't have to do business with the city.'' <br /><br />tyfMayor Bloomberg, who spent $73 million of his own money to finance his election campaign in 2001, has been critical of aspects of the city's campaign finance system, but this was the first time that he called for an outright ban on contributions from individuals or companies because of perceived conflicts of interest. <br /><br /><strong>''The biggest problem is that anybody that deals with the city shouldn't be giving to the mayor's campaign,'' he said. ''Anybody that deals with the city shouldn't be giving money to a comptroller's campaign -- who oversees contracts. You just should not do that. The law does not prevent it and we should have a law that prevents it.''</strong> <br /><br /><strong>The mayor's comments came two days after a report by City Clerk Victor L. Robles found that City Hall lobbyists had earned a record amount, $24.8 million, to press their various causes and issues last year. The Parkside Group, which has ties to City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, was ranked 6th on the Top 10 list of city lobbyists, with a reported income of more than $1 million last year. <br />Mr. Miller, who is expected to run for mayor in 2005, has also sought help from Harry E. Giannoulis, a partner in the Parkside Group, to fill a crucial position -- that of the speaker's chief of staff. </strong><br /><br />David K. Chai, a spokesman for Mr. Miller, said that the speaker would support a law prohibiting contributions from individuals and companies that do business with the city as long as the mayor ''agreed to participate in the city's campaign finance system and pledged not to spend $70-plus million of his own money to buy the mayor's race again.'' <br /><br />Mr. Chai asserted that the mayor was being hypocritical by trying to change a campaign finance system that he does not have to participate in. ''The fact of the matter is that it's the mayor and his Republican Party that's destroying our campaign finance system,'' he said. <br /><br />William T. Cunningham, the mayor's director of communications, rejected that charge. ''Gifford Miller endorsed Howard Dean, who was the first Democrat to drop out of the campaign finance system in this country,'' he said. ''Two, he is now supporting John Kerry, who is also not participating in that system. It is very convenient of them to pick and choose who is being a hypocrite.'' <br />Mayor Bloomberg also said yesterday that city employees should not receive compensatory time or be able to work flexible hours in return for attending campaign events. <br /><br />The Daily News reported Friday that the office of City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. had told employees they might be eligible for time off if they accompanied Mr. Thompson, who is also considering a mayoral run, at parades and other events on a volunteer basis." - New York Times, May 22, 2004Zengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-25771494509119590322004-05-19T17:47:00.000-07:002008-09-21T17:51:32.901-07:00Miller Fund-Raiser's Ties to Lobbyist Raise Eyebrows With Watchdogs<em>New York Sun, May 19, 2004 By DAVID ANDREATTA</em><br /><br />City Council Speaker Gifford Miller's fund-raising effort operated for 15 months in an office in the same lobbying firm that reportedly has advised him on selecting a new chief of staff.<br /><br />The executive director of Miller for New York, Lisa Esler, rented an office from the Parkside Group since February 2003 before relocating to another floor in the same Nassau Street building three weeks ago.<br /><br />Ms. Esler and aides to Mr. Miller said the space was rented by her consulting firm, The Esler Group, and not the campaign, although Miller for New York is paying for the new office, the aides and Ms. Esler said. <br /><br />That a fund-raiser for a potential mayoral candidate - Mr. Miller has yet to declare his intentions for 2005 - shared an office with a firm that acknowledges directly lobbying the speaker raised eyebrows with government watchdogs.<br /><br />"Without saying there is anything illegal or improper about it, my advice to any elected official would be to not have your fund-raiser physically working out of the office of someone who is lobbying City Hall," said Gene Russianoff, a registered lobbyist and staff attorney for the New York Public Interest Research Group, a good-government group.<br /><br />The relationship between the speaker and the Parkside Group was the focus of a report in yesterday's New York Times that suggested Mr. Miller is seeking advice from the firm's partner, Harry Giannoulis, in choosing a new chief of staff.<br />The Parkside Group is one of the city's up-and-coming lobbying and political consulting firms. Its clients include Telebeam Telecommunications Corp., which owns payphones through out the five boroughs, and others that contract with the city.<br />According to city Campaign Finance Board records, the Parkside Group has contributed $4,950 to Mr. Miller's campaign.<br /><br />In addition, Mr. Giannoulis donated $2,000 on his own, records show.<br />Ms. Esler acknowledged having solicited the Parkside Group for contributions but added that the firm is one of thousands of potential contributors she has turned to for support.<br /><br />Asked if she believed it was appropriate for a fund-raiser to run an operation from the office of a lobbyist, Ms. Esler said: "This is not a matter of opinion. What matters is that Miller for New York is in full compliance with the Campaign Finance Board's rules and regulations."<br /><br />Mr. Miller's office said yesterday that Ms. Esler was entitled to choose her own location since the office was doubling as the headquarters of The Esler Group and not the speaker's campaign.<br /><br />"She's a fund-raising consultant for the speaker. Where she rented space to do her work is not our business," said Stephen Sigmund, Mr. Miller's director of communication. "She rents space to do her work where she chooses."<br /><br />None of the partners at the Parkside Group could be reached for comment.<br />Cozy relationships between lobbyists, candidates, and their fund-raisers are not altogether uncommon in New York City politics.<br /><br />Lobbyist and political consultant Suri Kasirer is actively raising money for Comptroller William Thompson Jr., also a potential mayoral candidate, as well as Mr. Miller.<br /><br />A former Bronx Borough president, Fernando Ferrer, and Attorney General Eliot Spitzer have tapped the lobbying and consulting firm of Mirram Global for help with their fund-raising.Zengernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214870608274609109.post-43314622581509720042000-10-10T07:19:00.000-07:002009-02-08T07:20:22.555-08:00Parkside Made Millions as Lobbyist During Giff Miller SpeakershipAn addition of an extra term for city officials will have a chilling effect on competition for elective office, worsening a political system in the City which is already on life support. The immediate critical problem is not that less than 1% of registered voters during the last primary had a choice at the polls; it is the centralization of control in the hands of a new breed of powerbrokers that has evolved since the corruption scandal uncovered in the 1980’s in the Koch administration.<br /><br /> <br />Only one man can stop this elite gang of elected officials, party leaders, lobbyists and their clients from a complete takeover of New York City’s budget and political system: Michael Garcia, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District. Garcia, whose office is mostly known for convicting members of violent organized crime families, must not let the city’s secret powerbrokers end his investigation of the City Council’s member item slush fund scandal. Mr. Garcia, you have assembled valuable resources to stop this new ruling gang from continuing to loot the City’s budget. You must use the power in your hands to do so now. It was the municipal scandal of the 80’s that led to the term limits reform not the money of Ron Lauder<br /><br /> <br /><br />Will Garcia Uncover a New Municipal Scandal to Rival NJ U.S. Attorney Christie’s Accomplishments? <br /><br />A new type of lobbyists maneuver unregulated through city government causing the same kind of damage to our city as Wall Street investment bankers have done to the nation’s banking system. They scheme around unclear rules, limited regulations and non-existent oversight deliberately left vague by elected officials to benefit themselves and make money for their campaign contributors. But while damages to Wall Street are easy to show, this corruption, though just as harmful, is much harder to prove.<br /><br />Starting a decade ago, a small group (ten or less) of campaign consultants like the Parkside Group began to function as lobbyists specializing in obtaining City Council funding. From 2002 to 2006, Parkside Group made over $7 million dollars by lobbying for over 40 non-profits that were funded by member items and developers who force their projects on unwilling communities. This new class of power players not only influences policy, which they are supposed to do as lobbyists, they are actually choosing the government officials who will then turn around and act on behalf of clients whose interests firms like Parkside represent. (footnotes: 1, 2, & 3) (www.parksidegroup.blogspot.com/) <br /><br />Campaign operatives took on the role of lobbyists after ethics rules issued after the Koch scandals in the Parking Violations Bureau—which involved two of the five county leaders—boxed out party leaders and elected officials (except Anthony Seminerio, one of your new targets, Mr. Garcia) from profiting, at least directly, from those doing business with the City.<br /><br />It what can only be described as local triangulation, the combining of the campaign consultant and lobbyist has had a chilling effect on independent politics, reform and the will of the people. The city’s elected officials, wealthy establishment and lobbyist-consultants have all joined together to ignore the choice of the people to have the system of two term limits that they voted for twice in the last 15 years. With the efficiency of the Soviet Union they have sent independent political leaders to Siberia. And some, like me, have even met worse fates. Only a new municipal corruption scandal will galvanize the public pressure necessary to update the City’s ethic rules to regulate these new super lobbyist-consultants and give the citizens of New York back their government and democracy.<br /><br />Why Term Limits Exist <br /><br />Term limits, the most important government reform in the modern history of New York City, were instituted in 1987 after then-U.S. Attorney Rudy Giuliani convicted lobbyists and government officials for turning the Parking Violations Bureau into a “racketeering enterprise.” Giuliani proved that City commissioners loyal to Queens Borough President and Democratic Leader Donald Manes permitted Bronx County Leader Stanley Friedman and his business partners to win a $22 million contract for a company called Citisource to build a hand-held computer for parking meters, even though Citisource had no assets, no employees, and not a single computer.<br /><br /> <br />The public’s vote in two separate elections for limiting City officials to two terms was a response to then-Mayor Koch conspiring with the Queens and Bronx Democratic County Leaders to shake down a City agency in return for their support for Koch’s election and reelection bids. The term limit reform theory was that turnover in elective office would prevent future takeover of city agencies. What the reformers did not foresee was the creation of lobbyist-consultants and their subsequent alliance with the county leaders and elected officials to centralize power and take over the entire City government..<br /><br /> <br />In 1984, I wrote an editorial in a small newspaper I managed called Talking Turkey, which uncovered the corruption inside the Parking Violations Bureau. At the time, my story was ignored for two years by the City’s press until Queens Borough President Manes attempted suicide on the eve of his indictment by Giuliani. It is creepy that over 24 years later, despite clear anecdotal evidence, knowledge of a corruption investigation by your office and the hiring of criminal lawyers by present and former Council leaders, the member item corruption story is still being ignored by the press. I wrote the Parking Violations editorial at that time because the mainstream media was ignoring government corruption in the city. Two decades later, amazing as it may see, I am publishing this government corruption story on a blog, because we have an even more oppressively controlled media in this town than we did then. (footnote: 5)<br /><br /> (www.Talkingturkey.blogspot.com)<br /><br /> <br />Hoist Them By Their Own Petard: <br /><br />Member Items <br />The reason the Council Members hired lawyers right away is because they know you have two atomic bombs in your hand, Mr. Garcia. What would be more fitting than to use the member items which the Council Member’s now use to ensure their reelection, to catch consultants/lobbyist in a conspiracy to rip off from the rip off (member items). While he continues to wait for his sentencing, former Queens Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin could offer great insight into how his former chief of staff Evan Stavisky operates the Parkside Group. Evan Stavisky, son of Queens State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, is one of the partners in Parkside Group. Since McLaughlin teamed up with Stavisky to cut themselves into the county machine, leading to the success of the lobbyist-consultant operation, it is fair to reason after reading your indictment of Mr. McLaughlin that the Assemblyman micromanaged and took a piece of everything he was involved in. McLaughlin even paid Parkside to lobby for the Central Labor Council, when he was the Labor Council’s president. It is a slam dunk that McLaughlin can do more to break up the monopoly that secretly operates New York City than Frank Lucas did for breaking up the corruption in the NYPD narcotics squad in the 70’s. (Footnotes: 1, 5, 6, 7 & 8) <br /><br />(www.usdoj.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/October06/mclaughlinindictment.pdf)<br /><br /> <br />Parkside’s former President Harry Giannoulis helped Gifford Miller become speaker in 2002 and also assisted him in picking his chief of staff. Giannoulis quietly left Parkside several months ago. (footnotes: 9&10)<br /><br /> <br />We know according to Citizens Union that several political consultants like Parkside took on a second role as a lobbyist when Gifford Miller became speaker. Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, a nonprofit civic group that has no budget request before the city, said the competition for money among nonprofits had "created this frenzy" to hire lobbyists out of a belief that doing so would increase their chances of securing appropriations. He also expressed concern about what he called "a growing problem" of council members being lobbied by firms that serve as political consultants to many of them. "It's a closed circle of influence that is totally inappropriate," Dadey said. (footnotes: 1, 11 &12)<br /><br /> <br />What Else Did Fast and Loose Speaker Miller <br /><br />Do With the Public’s Money? <br />We know according to a report by the Comptroller that Speaker Miller played fast and loose with the city’s budget and rules. An audit charged that Miller split $1.67 million into several smaller contracts to avoid competitive bidding requirements for a mailing that touted the Speaker’s accomplishments. (footnotes: 13 &14)<br /><br /> <br />We know that Miller combined fundraising and lobbyists to work together to benefit his campaign for mayor in 2005. City Council Speaker Gifford Miller's fundraising effort for mayor operated for 15 months in an office that housed the same lobbying firm that was also working on his campaign for Mayor. (footnotes: 13, 14 & 15)<br /><br />Who made the decision in the Council’s finance office on who got member item funding? Did certain lobbyists get preferred treatment? <br /><br />The second bomb in your hands is Councilman Kendall Stewart’s former chief of staff, Asquith Reid, who, like McLaughlin, has also become a customer of yours. Reid's attorney told a Manhattan federal judge Friday that he has no plans to go to trial on charges that Reid embezzled more than $145,000 in public funds. He faces more than 80 years in prison for allegedly stealing the cash from tax money Stewart allocated over three years to the Donna Reid Memorial Education Fund, a nonprofit group. The indictment said employees in the New York City Department for the Aging initially rejected the group's application for city money in 2004 after noticing that its office address was identical to Asquith Reid's home address. The group then reapplied for city funds through the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development. That request was granted. Some of the money passed through fictitious groups created by the City Council before being awarded to the fund. (footnotes: 16, 17)<br /><br /> <br />City Council Finance Committee Chair (and New York City Comptroller candidate) David Weprin said these “fictitious groups,” never came before his committee or the Council as a whole – it was merely the work of a “couple of staff people.” (footnote: 18)<br /><br />An Open Secret? <br /><br />For the six years Council Speaker Christine Quinn served on the Council prior to the discovery of the slush fund scandal, where did Speaker Quinn and the other Council Members think they were getting the money to fund additional nonprofits after the passage of the annual budget? Friends and co-workers of two former City Council staffers accused of disobeying orders to scrap a phantom budget system fumed that they're being scapegoated. The two, Michael Keogh and Staci Emanuel, left after Council Speaker Christine Quinn said they ignored instructions to stop reserving millions of taxpayer dollars under the names of fictional organizations so the funds could be dispersed later to genuine nonprofit groups. The Speaker’s finance director, Michael Keogh, immediately joined Bolton-St. Johns, the second most successful lobbying firm in the City. Mr. Keogh is already listed on the City’s database as the contact person for the non-profit High Line, which this year received $290,000 in member item funding from the slush fund, sponsored by Speaker Quinn.<br /><br /> <br />City records show Friends of the High Line also received $290,000 from the Council for borough needs in 2005 and 2006 and millions more from the capital budget. It is not know if Quinn was the sponsor of these funds or if these funds also came from fictitious nonprofits, because until this year, sponsors weren’t publicly listed on member items. It is still a secret who the sponsors of the much larger capital budget contracts are. What is known it that Friends of the High Line has contributed more than $50,000 to Quinn and $60,000 to Miller since 1999. <br /><br /> <br />The New York Times called the member items hidden in the fake nonprofits “Potemkin Accounts”. The Times editorial from April 5th, 2008 said: “The device was apparently designed to allow the City Council speaker to hand out funds for pet projects throughout the year, getting around a requirement to allocate money at the start of the fiscal year. While it does not seem as if the public’s money was spent illegally, it does seem likely that political favors were bestowed without accountability… Quinn says she was disobeyed when she ordered her staff to stop stashing ghost funds last spring (two top finance aides later departed for undisclosed reasons). She says she tried to stop the phony allocations, something her predecessors, Peter Vallone and Gifford Miller, did not do. But she was oddly ineffectual.” What the Times did not address was how Miller’s policy of creating fake nonprofits to park member item funds not only continued, but the number of made-up organizations in the budget doubled after Quinn became Speaker and replaced the previous financial director and 40% of her staff. “Finally, last fall,” the same Times editorial continued, Quinn “alerted the United States attorney’s office and the city’s Department of Investigation, who were already examining other council-related finances. That action was late in coming.” The Times called for a “full investigation”. We fully agree. (footnote: 19, 20, 21, 22 & 23)<br /><br />Spin Masters Replaces Service and Influence Network <br /><br />These new “lobbyist-consultants” have risen to a level of power that rivals old-time Tammany leaders like Carmine DeSapio. But what makes these campaign consultants different—and more dangerous—is that they are beholden to no one. The old political machines needed to provide services to working families, because they depended upon their vote to survive. Lobbyist-consultants, on the other hand, rely on spin, polls and special interests to keep the money flowing in for their summer homes in the Hamptons<br /><br />. <br /><br />From Angry New Yorker to Disconnected Wimp <br /><br />The old machine’s network operated from the bottom up giving the average Joe a voice, the spin masters have destroyed that system and changed the culture of government. Today New York’s government has become a Potemkin Village controlled by insiders, blocking everyman’s influence and ability to pressure government for there needs.<br /><br /> <br />Local district attorneys, who rely on the same lobbyists-consultants and local elected officials for their reelection campaigns, conveniently look the other way on this type of insider trading. Even the city’s Conflict of Interest Board retreated under pressure from lobbyists when they tried in 2005 to restrict lobbying of elected officials by consultants who work on their campaigns. Only a U.S. Attorney has the independence to prosecute the racketeering scam that is pretending to be our government. (footnote: 4) <br /><br /> <br />The future of New York City is in your hands, <br /><br />Mr. Garcia <br /> Sincerely,<br /><br /> All New Yorkers<br /><br />------------------<br /><br />Getting help to end government corruption is as difficult as President McKinley’s efforts to win the Spanish American War by sending a messenger with a letter in 1898 to seek the help of rebel leader General Garcia hiding in the mountains of Cuba. <br /><br />Dedicated to Jack Newfield, the father of modern investigative journalism in this town <br /><br />Sidebar News Articles . . . <br /><br /> 1. We know the Parkside Group was formed around the 2001 election“In Queens, the Parkside Group leads the newcomers in attracting candidates. Evan Stavisky, Bill Driscoll and Harry Giannoulis bring their years of political experience together to represent dozen-plus odd Council candidates.” -Queens Tribune, July 12, 2001 <br /><br />2. We know that Parkside took in 7.5 Million from 2001 to 2006"As the city examines the power that lobbyists exert on municipal government, new figures show the top influence-peddlers are hauling in big bucks. According to a list compiled by the Citizens Union and obtained by The Post, the Parkside Group is the city's top-billing lobbying or consulting group, having earned $7.5 million in fees since 2001." -New York Post, February 3, 2006 <br /><br />3. Top Lobbyists <br /><br />New York Observer, June 7, 2007 The City Clerk’s office just put out its annual report on lobbying. Here are the Top Ten Lobbyists for 2006: Kasirer Consulting Revenue: $3,020,645.79, Bolton St. Johns, Inc Revenue: $2,462,786, Parkside Group Revenue: $2,358,950, Greenberg Traurig Revenue: $2,233,433.34, Law Offices of Claudia Wagner Revenue: $2,162,200, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP Revenue: 41,857,925, Constantinople Consulting Revenue: $$1,649,500, Connelly McLaughlin Revenue: $1,418,900, Geto & De Milly, Inc. Revenue: $1,323,996, Yoswein New York, Inc. Revenue: $1,187,000 <br /><br />4. Conflicts of Interest Board Rescinds Memo on Lobbying“Under pressure from lobbying-and-consulting firms, the city's Conflicts of Interest Board has backed away from its first attempt to restrict lobbying of elected officials by consultants who work on their campaigns. The board caused a stir in political circles in January when it issued a memo reminding municipal employees of the ethical rules for taking part in campaigns, which included a new admonition against lobbying by political consultants. It said consultants hired by public officials “may not lobby or in any other way communicate” with those officials on behalf of private clients. . . The Parkside Group, for instance, has worked on the campaigns of more than a dozen City Council members, including the speaker, Gifford Miller, and has also lobbied the Council on behalf of private clients. . . .Mr. Rosenkranz (lawyer hired to represent lobbyist against the conflict of interest board) declined to say which lobbyist-consultants he was representing, although others involved in the case said Parkside was among them.” –New York Times, March 3, 2005 <br /><br />5. We know that Speakers Miller and Quinn and the rest of the City Council have hired criminal lawyers to represent them“Gifford Miller, the former City Council speaker, has hired a criminal defense lawyer to represent him in a federal investigation into the Council’s longstanding practice of allocating millions of dollars to phantom nonprofit groups, people involved in the case said on Friday. The Council, which had hired a criminal lawyer to represent itself in the inquiry by federal prosecutors and the City Department of Investigation, recently hired another one to represent staff members who were being questioned, several of the people said. The two lawyers, along with a third criminal defense lawyer representing the current speaker, Christine C. Quinn, are being paid with city funds; Mr. Miller’s lawyer, Henry Putzel III, is not.” –New York Times, May 17, 2008 <br /><br />6. The Press should be Reading the Press and Connecting the Dots About eight years ago, Brian McLaughlin and his former chief of staff Parkside’s Evan Stavisky went on an attack against the leaders of the Queens organization. There were a series of newspapers articles in the New York Sun claiming that all the leaders lived on Long Island. The late Thomas Manton and his co-leaders in the Queens organization did what they always do to avoid trouble: made a deal to combine forces with McLaughlin and Stavisky.<br /><br />7. We know McLaughlin took a piece for himself of everything he was involved in“The former head of the nation’s biggest municipal labor council painstakingly detailed years of thievery from his own union and the state on Friday as he pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in federal court in Manhattan.” The thievery included stealing $95,000 from Little League baseball teams to pay his rent, to stealing from own his labor union, to brazenly creating two no-show jobs on his legislative payroll and keeping part of one of their salaries. – New York Times, March 8, 2008 <br /><br />8. We know that McLaughlin is in cooperation with the U.S. Attorney to reduce his prison sentence“Disgraced ex-lawmaker and union boss Brian McLaughlin is a secret witness in an FBI probe that led to Wednesday's arrest of a Queens’s pol on influence-peddling charges, the Daily News has learned. The ongoing investigation - which featured an undercover FBI agent trolling the Assembly floor for corrupt pols - has snared its first collar: Assemblyman Seminerio (D-Ozone Park). Sources familiar with the investigation said McLaughlin, a former assemblyman who pleaded guilty to bribery charges and faces up to 10 years in prison, is cooperating in the probe.” –New York Daily News, September 10, 2008 <br /><br />9. We know that The Parkside Group’s President Harry Giannoulis helped Gifford Miller become Council Speaker "Gifford represents a completely new paradigm," said Harry Gianoulis [sic], a consultant who helped coordinate Mr. Miller's campaign for Speaker. "It's consistent with the way that all of these new guys think that he took a multi-track approach and tried to talk to everyone, instead of saying 'I've got Queens and the Bronx' and ignoring everything outside that target audience. He started early with his campaigning, and he didn't make enemies. The old model doesn't work anymore, where you sit on your ass and wait for a county leader to pick you." –The New York Observer, Jan. 13, 02 <br /><br />10. Miller got help from Parkside’s lobbyist in finding his new chief of staff and that Parkside is getting paid from both sides"The position is traditionally that of gatekeeper and top adviser to one of the city's most powerful officials. . . The lobbyist, Harry E. Giannoulis, a partner in the Parkside Group, a lobbying and political consulting firm, said yesterday that while he did not believe he had played a pivotal role in helping Mr. Miller choose his chief of staff, he had given the speaker advice on what to look for in a candidate and had advised some potential applicants to seek the job. He also participated in meetings at which candidates were discussed, according to Mr. Miller's staff. Mr. Giannoulis wears two hats, one as a consultant helping candidates get elected, another as a lobbyist, who then helps his clients gain access to the people he helps elect. It is a standard strategist-lobbyist model that is common in the city and in the federal government. In this case, Mr. Giannoulis acknowledges wearing both hats at the same time -- saying he is collecting a $2,000-a-month retainer from Mr. Miller's campaign committee for political work while also representing clients like the Telebeam Telecommunications Corporation of Long Island City, which owns pay phones throughout the city." -New York Times, May 18, 2004 <br /><br />11. Good Government: Citizens Union reported lobbying firms were created to do work in Miller’s Council “More political consultants in New York have taken on the second role of lobbyists over the last five years, prompting good-government advocates to press the city's ethics board to revive attempts to regulate the practice. An analysis by Citizens Union, a nonprofit policy group, shows that half of the top 10 consultant-lobbyists last year earned no money from lobbying in 2001, but gradually adopted the practice, sometimes lobbying the same public officials they helped elect. Altogether, those 10 firms earned $32 million from lobbying and consulting from 2002 to 2005, according to the analysis, which the group intends to present today to the Conflicts of Interest Board.” -NY Times, Feb. 3, 06 <br /><br />12. We know the lobbyist consultant role at City Hall is Inappropriate"Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, a nonprofit civic group that has no budget request before the city, said the competition for money among nonprofits had "created this frenzy" to hire lobbyists out of a belief that doing so would increase their chances of securing appropriations. He also expressed concern about what he called "a growing problem" of council members being lobbied by firms that serve as political consultants to many of them. "It's a closed circle of influence that is totally inappropriate," Mr. Dadey said. -New York Times, June 22, 2005 <br /><br />13. We know Miller played fast and loose with the city’s budget and rulesThe City Council played fast and loose in awarding $1.67 million in printing work under former Speaker Gifford Miller, a city audit charged yesterday. The report said competitive bidding requirements were skirted by splitting big contracts into several smaller ones that didn't reach the $5,000 bidding threshold. Initially, his office had reported mailing only 100,000 flyers, which featured Miller and touted the Council's budget positions, at a cost of $37,000. But a few days later, Miller aides admitted 5.5 million flyers had been mailed at a cost of $1.6 million. –Daily News, September 22, 2007 <br /><br />14. We know Miller’s combined fund-raising and Lobbyists worked together to benefit his campaign for mayor in 2005"City Council Speaker Gifford Miller's fund-raising effort operated for 15 months in an office in the same lobbying firm that reportedly has advised him on selecting a new chief of staff. The executive director of Miller for New York, Lisa Esler, rented an office from the Parkside Group since February 2003 before relocating to another floor in the same Nassau Street building three weeks ago. Ms. Esler and aides to Mr. Miller said the space was rented by her consulting firm, The Esler Group, and not the campaign, although Miller for New York is paying for the new office, the aides and Ms. Esler said." - New York Sun, May 19, 2004 <br /><br />15. The Miller campaign for mayor paid Parkside for fundraising from 2002 to 2205 –Campaign finance website <br /><br />16. Indicted former council staffer knows . . . The indictment said employees in the New York City Department for the Aging initially rejected the group's application for city money in 2004 after noticing that its office address was identical to Asquith Reid's home address. The group then reapplied for city funds through the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development. That request was granted. Some of the money passed through fictitious groups created by the city council before being awarded to the fund. –Daily News, April 16, 2008<br /><br />17. And is Talking!A former top aide to Brooklyn Councilman Kendall Stewart is negotiating a plea deal with the feds in the hopes of avoiding prison. Asquith Reid's attorney told a Manhattan federal judge Friday he has no plans to go to trial on charges that the former chief of staff embezzled more than $145,000 in public funds. Reid, 64, faces more than 80 years in prison for allegedly stealing the cash from tax money Stewart allocated over three years to the Donna Reid Memorial Education Fund, a nonprofit honoring the memory of Reid's late daughter. Reid has alleged he put the $145,000 back into the charity. –Daily News, September 12, 2008 <br /><br />18. Council Finance Chair claims two staff workers controlled member items slush fundsIn an appearance last night on the Perez Notes radio show, Council Finance Committee Chair (and comptroller candidate) David Weprin said the Council slush fund incident, was a minor blip. These “fictitious groups,” Weprin said, never came before his committee or the Council as a whole – it was merely the work of a “couple of staff people.” - Daily News Blog, July 31, 2008 <br /><br />19. What was going on in the Council Finance Office?Friends and co-workers of two former City Council staffers accused of disobeying orders to scrap a phantom budget system fumed yesterday that they're being scapegoated. The two, Michael Keogh and Staci Emanuel, left after Council Speaker Christine Quinn said they ignored instructions to stop reserving millions of taxpayer dollars under the names of fictional organizations so the funds could be dispersed later to genuine nonprofit groups. "Staci is the consummate professional," one former co-worker told The Post. "She's totally honest. She'd never ignore an order like that. For her to be vilified publicly is not right." Keogh, the council's former budget director, and Emanuel, his deputy, have both refused to talk to the press. –NY Post, April 5, 08 <br /><br />20. Former Council financial director who now works at one of the city’s top lobbyists firms, says he is cooperating with investigators "Her finance director, Michael Keogh, has since joined Bolton-St. Johns, a lobbying firm where Emily Giske, a top official in the state Democratic Party and close ally of the speaker, also works. Quinn’s communications Chief Jamie McShane said the speaker played no role in Keogh landing that job, and Keogh has told reporters he is cooperating with investigators.” -Daily News Blog, July 31, 2008<br /><br />21. From the Council Finance Committee to Lobbyist Michael Keogh is listed as Bolton-St Johns lobbyist in a contract with the High Line non profit which according to news report received member items funds, even some funding from the fake non profits. –NYC Lobbyists Database <br /><br />22. Quinn: “We Went Back and Fixed It”The Friends of the High Line - a pet project of former City Council Speaker Gifford Miller - received more money than any other group from the phantom accounts squirreled away by the council last year, records released yesterday showed. Council Speaker Christine Quinn said the High Line was originally allocated the funds during the budget process, but was mistakenly left high and dry when the final list of grants was issued. "This was just a clerical error," she said. "We went back to fix it." –NY Post, April 4, 2008<br /><br />23. Quinn Replaced Finance Director and most of his staff “Michael P. Keogh will become the Council's new finance director, with primary responsibility for negotiating the city's $50.2 billion budget with the Bloomberg administration, Council aides confirmed. Mr. Keogh will replace Larian Angelo, the longtime finance director, who was fired along with 17 of her staff members, or roughly 40 percent of the budget department.” –New York Times, February 18, 2006Zengernoreply@blogger.com0